Hospital birth story: Katrina: The Compleat Mother

Joy's hospital birth story

I am married, with 3 children, born at a hospital with very bad experiences.

My first child was born in the hospital, I was in the hospital already, and going to get my labor induced in the morning. About 7 that evening, I began to tell the nurses I had alot of lower back pain. They told me to go to sleep and rest for the morning. I began to do my breathing exercises I had learned and again was asking for somebody to check me, but they said I was fine, because the fetal moniter showed no contractions.

At 10:30 the Dr came in and told me I was acting horribly, and that I needed to go to sleep. He turned off the lights and left. I began to cry, my mother was crying, it was horrible.

I finally got back up, and noticed blood running down my leg. A midwife came in, and was telling me that if I wanted her to check me, I had to stop acting so hysterical and upset. I choked down tears, she checked and my baby was crowning. She was born about 10 minutes later, at 11:12 at night, all 9#1oz of her.

I was a teenager, and they kept saying "teen moms always react like this." My second daughter, 4 years later.... My water broke at 34 weeks. I was admitted to the hospital and put on an IV drip and meds to hold back labor until her lungs developed. About one week into it, I woke up at 6:00 am, to have a nurse telling me to drink a liquid quickly. I did, asked why, and about then the gurney came. I was taken for a C-section. I had NO clue why, and later found out why.... my baby had went breech that night, light contractions had started, and my Dr had a golf tournament beginning at 9 am.

I was SOO angry that I was not informed and given a right to make decisions for myself. At that point, I should have chose homebirth, but honestly had never really thought alot about it.

My third daughter, I went to the hospital, my water broke at 35 weeks. I called my Dr who said go straight to Labor/delivery. I walked in, was admitted, they said I was dilated to 4. Then the nurse came back and said the Dr was starting pitocin. I complained and said absolutely not, that I was doing fine. I got in an argument with the Dr and told him I would go home and deliver myself if he tried to force me.

Well... I was fine, dilated to 8 and the nurse said " you have to stay in your room, you could spit that baby out on the floor" So, I went to my room, (which was very tiny, no room to walk around) and my labor stopped, at 8 cm. The nurse talked me into taking pitocin for the last 2 cm. I did...and 10 minutes
later had to push. She told me no... but I couldnt stop.

She left to call the Dr, and I delivered my daughter alone, on the bed in the hospital. She was purple, and not breathing, I was stroking her back, and trying to get her to breath and yelling for help. She had to have oxygen, and a lot of work done, and spent time in the NICU. The Dr wasted no time in telling me how I harmed my child, and it was my fault, if I had done what he asked "we wouldnt have any of this nonsense"

~Katrina
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